Prime Minister nominee Kim Min-seok said Tuesday he expects to play a role in developing South Korea’s relations with the United States and Japan if appointed to the No. 2 government post.
Kim made the remark during his first meeting with reporters since President Lee Jae-myung named him prime minister on the day he took office June 4.
“I have a relatively deep understanding of the United States and have had personal relationships with key members of the Trump administration for quite a long time,” the nominee said, citing his studies at Harvard University and qualification as a licensed U.S. attorney.
“I think that my serving as prime minister of the South Korean government will in many respects contribute in certain ways to working out South Korea-U.S. relations,” he said.
Kim, a four-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party and a former top campaign aide to Lee, dismissed rumors that he is anti-American and his entry to the U.S. has been banned due to his involvement in a 1985 student protest at the U.S. cultural center in Seoul.
He said the protest, which was staged to demand an apology from the U.S. for allegedly overlooking a bloody crackdown by South Korea’s then military-backed regime on anti-government protests in the southwestern city of Gwangju, was a “very important incident.”
He also said he believes the incident helped shape the U.S. government’s response to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration in December as it consistently expressed support for South Korea’s people and democratic systems while opposing the “military insurrection forces.”
On South Korea’s relations with Japan, the nominee stressed that he has long thought the bilateral relationship is “far more important than what the general public believes.”
In particular, he highlighted the importance of South Korea-Japan relations in finding a breakthrough for South Korea’s ailing economy and negotiating a tariff deal with Washington.
“I’ve had a wide interest in the U.S. and especially the Trump administration, as well as Japan, China and other countries, and thought about the kind of personal relationships, diplomatic relations and foreign policies that would be right to realize South Korea’s national interest,” Kim said.
“If I become prime minister, I will work on those issues to the best of my ability.”
